How to Design a Responsive Website
Responsive web design is how websites adapt to the device displaying them, adjusting layout, text, and imagery so the experience holds up whether someone is on a 27-inch monitor or a phone screen. For Squarespace designers, this capability is built in. Every site you build adapts to all devices automatically, with no extra code required. Where you have real control is in how deliberately you design for each screen. Fluid Engine gives you that control, including an independent mobile canvas you can design separately from the desktop layout.
How responsive web design works in Squarespace
Every Squarespace website is responsive by default, meaning your designs adapt to all devices automatically. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Squarespace sites automatically adjust to screen parameters on breakpoints. Breakpoints are the points at which a website’s layout shifts to fit a different screen size. Squarespace builds these in, so you don’t have to write the code yourself.
How your site responds on mobile depends on which editor you’re working in. In the classic editor (blog pages, event pages, and product additional information sections), blocks stack vertically on mobile automatically. In Fluid Engine sections of 7.1 sites, you get that automatic behavior plus an independent mobile canvas, so you can design mobile layouts without affecting the desktop.
Content should be brief and concise. What’s scannable on a desktop becomes even more important on a smaller screen where visitors are often moving quickly and on the go.
What to consider when designing responsive websites
Design one site for every device
Because Squarespace handles breakpoints automatically, you can design one site and the layout will adapt to all screen sizes. This means you don’t have to create duplicate versions of pages or add custom code per device.
Squarespace’s responsive design also simplifies content management. Updates and changes only need to be made once, and they apply consistently across devices, ultimately saving you time—especially on larger sites.
Pro tip: If you want to show different content on desktop versus mobile—for example, a condensed layout for phone screens or a decorative element that only makes sense on larger displays—Block Hiding in Fluid Engine enables you to control which blocks appear on each device without touching the other.
Streamline your design workflow
When creating a website for your client, you don’t have to design a different site for every device. Instead, you can create one site and Squarespace will automatically adapt text, images, and videos to different screen sizes.
The following workflow can help you structure your process.
Step 1: Define the goal of the website
Before you begin designing and laying out content, work with your client to establish what action visitors should take when they land on the site. Defining the goal of the website provides a clear direction and purpose for the entire design process. It helps to align design elements, layouts, and functionalities with the intended objectives.
Step 2: Gather content
The more content you have prepared or available from your client, the quicker you can design their site. This includes text, images, logos, and videos.
Step 3: Incorporate the brand
Maintain consistency and reinforce your client’s brand identity by adding fonts and colors that match their desired aesthetic. A cohesive visual experience that aligns with your client’s values can foster brand recognition and establish trust and confidence with visitors.
Step 4: Design the desktop layout
Optimize the content layout, pages, and overall design based on a popular screen size, such as a 13-inch laptop screen size. You may find that designing on this screen size is more conducive to your vision than working on the site on a large desktop monitor.
Step 5: Design the mobile user experience (UX)
Once you’re satisfied with how the site looks on a desktop, move on to designing the mobile UX. Use Fluid Engine to arrange the mobile layout in a way that encourages visitors to take the desired action. Customize block sizes and the order of content, as needed. Do this for each page and section.
Step 6: Conduct a quality check
Always check the site on your mobile device to verify that spacing and sizing match your expectations. On desktop, play around with the size of the browser to test how the layout adjusts for various screen sizes.
Pro tip: Search engines often recommend a mobile-first approach to website design. While this process begins with the desktop view, you can still incorporate the mobile-first approach by keeping the goal of responsive design in mind: to give visitors the ability to quickly access what they’re looking for and take action.
Pro tips for responsive Squarespace design
Choose the size to prioritize
In designing over 150 sites for clients, I’ve noted traffic often follows an 80/20 rule: 80% of traffic comes from either mobile or desktop, and 20% comes from the other category (a smaller percentage comes from tablet users).
Using Squarespace analytics, you can see where your client’s traffic is coming from and focus your efforts on optimizing their site on screen sizes that dominate their traffic sources.
Consider the layout
Page layout contributes to the visitor experience. The following guidance can help you acclimate to Squarespace’s responsive design.
Pages and sections
Use consistent headers across different pages. For instance, if you use an image background for the header of your service page, use that same style across all your pages.
Use the same section height for each section on the website—either S, M, L, or custom.
Text, images, and videos
Use images and videos to break up text and add visual interest. If your client lacks visual content, use Squarespace’s built-in Unsplash integration.
Avoid embedding text in images. It won’t resize with the screen the way the page does. Use overlay styling instead.
Use clear and concise language. Text should always be scannable and digestible.
If you want text to fall on two lines, adjust the text block accordingly instead of using the return key to create the space. This way, your text will look good on all screen sizes.
Pro tip: Keep letter spacing at 0px or above. Negative letter spacing that looks refined on desktop can cause characters to overlap on mobile.
Set a focal point on any image used as a section background or banner. When the image crops on mobile, the focal point tells Squarespace which part of the image to keep centered.
Designing responsive websites on Squarespace
Squarespace handles the foundational work of responsive design out of the box. Automatic breakpoints, content resizing, and mobile adaptation are all built in. From there, your job is to take it further, using Fluid Engine’s independent mobile canvas and Finish Layer to push layouts well beyond what responsive defaults deliver. Tools like Mobile Overrides, Block Hiding, and Block Transforms give you precise, device-specific control without touching a line of code. Learn more about how to design responsive websites with Squarespace.
Frequently asked questions
Is Squarespace mobile responsive?
Yes. Every Squarespace 7.1 site is responsive by default. Content automatically adapts to the screen displaying it with no extra code required. On 7.1 sites, Fluid Engine goes a step further by giving you an independent mobile canvas, so you can design the mobile layout deliberately rather than relying entirely on automatic stacking.
How do I edit the mobile layout in Squarespace?
In any Fluid Engine section, switch to mobile view using the device icon at the top of the editor. From there, you’re working on a separate grid. Text content is shared between views, so editing copy on desktop also updates it on mobile (unless you use Block Hiding).
Pro tip: While you can’t add new blocks in mobile view, you can create them in desktop view first. Then you can refine their placement for mobile.
What is Device View in Squarespace?
Device View shows you a preview of how a site appears on desktop and mobile devices. It’s also a live editing environment where you can move blocks, adjust sections, and make layout changes directly in mobile view without leaving the editor.
Pro tip: Device View is a close approximation of mobile appearance, but testing on a real device before publishing is worth doing.
Can I show different content on mobile versus desktop?
Yes. Block Hiding empowers you to control which blocks appear on each device. Click the Layers icon while in mobile or desktop edit mode and use the visibility toggle to show or suppress individual blocks per view. This is useful for simplifying mobile layouts, hiding decorative elements that don’t translate to smaller screens, or surfacing a device-specific CTA.
Does responsive design impact SEO and AEO?
Yes. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily crawls and ranks the mobile version of your site. Because Squarespace sites are responsive by default, your mobile and desktop content stay consistent, which is exactly what Google recommends. Designing a deliberate mobile layout supports this further by ensuring your content hierarchy holds up on the screens most visitors are using.
This article was originally published on May 30, 2023. It has since been updated
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